From Zero To One

Icons from the digital revolution

I wanted to work with the desktop icons from essential software from the digital revolution already in the late nighties. Word, Photoshop, files and folders were the basic tools of the digital revolution that changed everyday life almost overnight for good for a great many people on this planet including myself. People start their working day by clicking on a program icon on the desktop of their computer screen.

Blow up icons

Initially I visualized the project as just a kind of blowup of the original icons into artistic proportions, keeping the actual pixel size as a grid. These small graphic icons were just 32 by 32 pixels would be presented as 3 meter high paintings or prints( *see my sketch mockup exhibition from 1999 above). But the idea seemed somewhat too easy and was not quite satisfactory and I was not sure about copyright infringements. I put ihe idea in my digital archive until I looked at the project again some time ago. I still felt that the basic idea was good but I felt It needed a more elaborate and abstract approach.

Glass pixel cubes

I wanted the material to be glass cubes as a 3D version of a square screenpixel. The glass cubes could function as light pixel cubes. This makes the icons into 3 dimensional objects and gives a new perspective to the icons and their original existence on a flat glass screen. This would mean a complex and demanding construction jobb; I concluded that I needed at least 1024 glasscubes to construct one 3 dimensional icon. Not impossible, but I put it on hold.

Binary code and abstraction

I rethought the icon idea as expressions for the basic units of the digital revolution: zeros and ones – the binary code that made it possible to change almost any experience and function in a screen and computer based virtual existence. I developed the thought that the icon objects could be translated into 2 states black and white and the the black and white transitions could alternate. The icons could built from basic to more elaborate states. I focused on the form of three important different icons.

Three Icons Of The Digital Revolution

3 icons are made into 3 light sculptures.

1. WRITE: The .doc icon sculpture refers to the digital production of text (Word).
2. IMAGINE: The image icon sculpture based on the photoshop icon refers to the digital imaging
3. SAVE: the zip  icon sculpture refers to the compression of all other expressions in to zeros and ones.

Dimensions and states

The illuminated icon sculptures or icon signs are realised in either 2 or 3 dimensions.

In 2 dimensions they are large led-light boards with a 32 x 32 grid. Each square can light up or remain dark creating the icon forms of the alternate 4 states*. The board can also have an all light or all dark state.

In 3 dimensions the Icons are either realized as static geometric glass sculptures/forms that can light up as a whole or remain dark. The 3 dimensional illuminated icon sculptures (LED billboard) can light up as i the 2 dimensional screen but as an object or sculpture freestanding in space

*4 States

The icon light sculptures has 4 alternate states in black and white revealing the icons in from basic in more elaborate alternating states reminiscent as a broken and flashing light advertisement that is warning that something has changed our existence for good: the digital revolution.